• Greece: Refugee children only with negative Covid-19 test in schools

    Greece’ Education Ministry demands negative COVID-19 test refugee children in order to enroll them in school, even though there is no official epidemiological data to justify such a discriminating move.

    According to a circular issued by Deputy Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki, refugee and asylum-seeking children that want to attend primary education classes across the country will have to show a Covid-19 test with negative result. The test has to be carried out 72 hours before.

    The circular uploaded by newspaper documentonews stipulates that next to the international certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis, necessary to ensure the public health, registrations of minor applicants or minor children of applicants for international protection in school units will have to submit also “a COVID-19 test with negative result carried out 72 hours before enrollment.”

    Most likely, it is the parents that will carry the cost.

    Worth noting that domestic students are not required to submit a negative Covid-19 test in order to attend schools.

    Apart from the fact that a negative test is not a scientific-based panacea against coronavirus in the class-rooms, the Ministry decision raises serious questions regarding the issue of discrimination in a very sensitive area such as health and thus in times of pandemic.

    Main opposition party SYRIZA demanded the immediate withdrawal of this criterion and spoke of “inadmissible categorization of students which is not based on any scientific or epidemiological data.”

    https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/09/12/covid-19-test-refgugee-children

    #asile #migrations #réfugiés #éducation #école #test_covid #ségrégation #discriminations #covid-19 #coronavirus #enfants #enfance #Grèce

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